Archives: Feb. 26-March 4, 2006

Wolff makes ballpark pitch to Marlins Posted March 3, 2006 Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said Thursday he will present a ballpark financing plan next week to the Florida Marlins, a step that may lead to more intense relocation negotiations between the San Antonio county and the Major League Baseball franchise. Wolff’s plan calls for extending tourist (hotel, car-rental) taxes first used to back bonds floated to build AT&T Center to generate revenue for a new ballpark built at a location chosen by the Marlins. Wolff is the godfather of baseball in San Antonio: the home of the San Antonio Missions (Class AA; Texas League) is named after him, and his actions carry a lot of weight in the area. Voter approval would be needed to refinance the bonds, pay off the AT&T Center debt early and use new bonds to pay for a ballpark; a 2010 opening would be likely. (What would happen to the Marlins in the meantime? Look for Monterrey, which had surprising support among baseball people when the Expos were looking for a new home, to get some play as a temporary venue.) Mayor Phil Hardberger still isn’t thrilled with the idea; he would rather the city focus on luring an NFL team to the area. Officials with the San Antonio Spurs, used to be being the only game in town, aren’t thrilled with the prospect of competition. Portland baseball enthusiasts say their city remains a contender for the Marlins, but there’s been no contact with the mayor’s office since early January.

Tulsa Drillers sold to Chuck Lamson Posted March 3, 2006 Executive Vice President Chuck Lamson has purchased controlling interest in the Tulsa Drillers (Class AA; Texas League) from President Went Hubbard. Hubbard has been the majority owner of the Drillers since purchasing the team from the Texas Rangers in December of 1986. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition completes a unique transition for Lamson. He first joined the Drillers as a pitcher during the 1979 season. After his playing career ended, he moved to the Drillers front office, working in ticket sales and as a groundskeeper. He was eventually promoted to assistant general manager and to general manager and became the club’s executive vice president after acquiring a minority stake in the team’s ownership in 1994. The transaction is pending upon the approval of the Texas League, Minor League Baseball and Major League Baseball.

Downtown Council backs Royals renovation bid Posted March 3, 2006 Kansas City’s Downtown Council, which had been orchestrating efforts for a new downtown ballpark for the Kansas City Royals, bowed down to reality and endorsed the ballot initiative to renovate the Truman Sports Complex on Thursday after being urged not to be "parochial" by holding out for a downtown ballpark. With a 25-4 vote, the board approved a resolution supporting the stadium proposal to be considered by Jackson County voters in April. It calls for a 3/8 -cent sales tax increase for 25 years to fund the county’s $425 million share of the $575 million reconstruction plan. In return, the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs would extend their leases at the Truman Sports Complex through 2031. The council didn’t take a stand on the additional question of adding a roof to the complex. For a look at how a roof would cover both Kauffman Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium, here’s an animation courtesy of HOK S+V+E. (Warning: this is a large file in the WMV format. Be patient when downloading it.)

Cactus League expects dip in ticket sales Posted March 3, 2006 After a few months of proclaiming that all was well on the ticket front for Cactus League games, officials finally admitted that this spring will be much slower than the two previous record-setting springs. (Of course, if you receive the Spring Training Online newsletter — where we track ticket sales — you’d know sales would significantly slower this spring.) Despite the return of Barry Bonds and a renovated ballpark, ducats to Giants matches are easier to snare this year, and the Cubs are drawing significantly fewer fans to HoHoKam Park. On the flip side, both the White Sox and Angels are expecting larger crowds this spring — but they’ve never drawn well in the past, so we’re not talking about a potential string of sellouts. Unlike some, we don’t see the World Baseball Classic taking away from spring training: while some fans have expressed displeasure with not seeing their favorite players (particularly Yankees fans mad Derek Jeter is in Arizona and not Tampa), that event seems to be drawing a completely different — and much smaller — fan base. Stars continue to drop their commitments to the WBC: yesterday Pedro Martinez and Corey Koskie announced they’d be skipping the tourney. Speaking of the WBC: five of the 12 teams in the tourney will sport ads on their uniforms.

GreenJackets, Giants extend affiliation Posted March 3, 2006 More affiliate news: the Augusta GreenJackets and their parent ball club, the San Francisco Giants, today announced a two-year extension on the player development agreement originally set to expire after the 2006 season. The extension means the GreenJackets will remain a Giants affiliate through at least the 2008 season. We’re still really early in the process for 2007-2008 — teams don’t need to start the decision-making process until August — but teams can renew their affiliate deals at any time.

New for 2006: Allegiance Field at Ogren Park Posted March 3, 2006 The name of the home of the Missoula Ospreys (rookie; Pioneer League) is changing from Play Ball Park to Allegiance Field at Ogren Park, as Allegiance Benefit Plan Management and Kathy Ogren, who owns Bitterroot Motors among other businesses, combined to donate $1 million for the naming rights to the ballpark. Play Ball Missoula has privately financed much of the ballpark’s construction, but is still $2 million short and has been warned by MiLB that further improvements, such as permanent clubhouses, must be made. More from the Missoulian.

New for 2006: AT&T Bricktown Park Posted March 3, 2006 This is merely the official announcement to what had been expected for months: the home of the Oklahoma Redhawks (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) will be known as AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, a change from SBC Bricktown Ballpark. The name change was necessitated after SBC purchased AT&T and then adopted the more widely known moniker. The ballpark originally was named the Bricktown Ballpark but was changed to Southwestern Bell Park when a corporate naming deal was announced in January 1998. Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark replaced the first corporate name, followed by SBC Bricktown Ballpark in 2002 after Southwestern Bell began operating as SBC. The original RedHawks ownership signed a 20-year lease with a five-year renewal on the ballpark that included control of the naming rights.

Judge turns down Anaheim’s request to force Angels name change Posted March 3, 2006 Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter Polos denied the city of Anaheim’s request to permanently block the Angels from using "Los Angeles" in the team’s name, giving the team its fifth and possibly last court victory. He said there were no grounds to overturn last month’s jury verdict. By a 9-3 vote, jurors said the Angels did not violate five words in the ballpark lease that required that the team "include the name Anaheim therein." The city sued the team for breach of contract last January, shortly after owner Arte Moreno changed the team name. A jury found in the team’s favor on Feb. 9, dashing the city’s hope of recovering millions of dollars in publicity and tourist revenue it claimed the name change cost Anaheim.

Baseball Notes Posted March 3, 2006 Skeeter Barnes is the new manager of the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays (Class A; Midwest League). He was the team’s hitting coach last season. Dave Howard was named manager of the team last month, but resigned shortly thereafter. Barnes played professionally for 17 seasons, including a four-year stint with the Detroit Tigers. In 2000, he managed the Lakeland Tigers (Class A; Florida State League) to a 52-88 record.

Three-city race for new Arizona spring-training ballpark? Posted March 2, 2006 Goodyear, Casa Grande and Glendale have all expressed significant interest and are farther along in the process to lure two teams to Arizona from the Grapefruit League in Florida, said Jeff Schatzki, the executive director of the Arizona Baseball and Softball Commission. Goodyear voters already passed funding legislation last year when the team attempted to lure the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Meanwhile, Casa Grande is the former spring home of the San Francisco Giants; it’s located 50 miles south of Phoenix. Glendale is a western suburb that’s already home to the Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) at Glendale Arena, while a new stadium is being erected for the Arizona Cardinals. From what we’ve heard, it’s actually a four-city race: Chandler officials have also done some planning on the issue. Schatski believes a deal could be in place within the next six months and that a new stadium could be built by 2008, if the host city fast-tracks the project. Three teams — Cleveland, Baltimore and Cincinnati — have been mentioned as possibly being interested in a move to Arizona, but that window may be closing fast. For scheduling purposes, teams must move in pairs, but two teams may not be looking too hard at a westward move. Cleveland seems to be aggressively looking at Florida locations, most recently discussing a new spring base with the Orlando suburb of Apopka. The Reds are putting down Florida roots: we’ve heard the Reds are close to a purchase of the Sarasota Reds (Class A; Florida State League) from the Boston Red Sox, which would indicate the team is looking to keep its Florida developmental base. The darkhorse for a potential move: the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Fall ballot measure for San Jose ballpark unlikely Posted March 2, 2006 Bowing to worried neighbors, the San Jose City Council on Wednesday appeared to have given up on a push for a November ballot measure asking voters to endorse public subsidies for a downtown ballpark to lure the Oakland Athletics. At a morning workshop — the first time the council has spent more than a few minutes discussing the ballpark proposal — members urged the city’s planning department to extend the public comment period on the project’s new environmental review from April 6 until April 20. Neighborhood activists had requested more time to review the study. That two-week delay will mean the study probably won’t be brought back to the council for final certification in time for a ballot measure to be written for this year’s election. A’s officials have downplayed the prospect of a San Jose move — pointing out the territory belongs to the San Francisco Giants — and are instead pursuing a new Fremont ballpark.

Sounds settle on 2008 opening date for new ballpark Posted March 2, 2006 The Nashville Sounds (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) formally announced their new downtown ballpark will open for the 2008 season, ending speculation that construction might be finished in time for a 2007 opening. The team selected Turner Universal Construction Company and the Don Hardin Group to provide construction management services for the new Nashville Sounds baseball stadium. Turner Universal is the local operating subsidiary of Turner Construction and has been building in Nashville for more than 30 years. Turner has long been recognized as a leader in sports facility construction, including their work on more than a dozen baseball stadiums. Local sports projects for Turner Universal include the Nashville Arena and The Nashville Superspeedway. The Don Hardin Group is a local, minority-owned construction management firm whose clients include Vanderbilt University. More from the Tennessean and Nashville City Paper.

San Antonio under ‘serious consideration’ for Marlins relocation Posted March 2, 2006 San Antonio has become the focus of Marlins’ relocation discussions, Major League Baseball president Bob DuPuy said Wednesday. He didn’t go as far to say that the city was the front-runner to land the team, preferring to reiterate the Marlins’ preference to stay in the Miami area. This is bluster designed to get Florida officials jumping: no financing plan for a new ballpark has been presented, and Mayor Phil Hardberger hasn’t sounded thrilled about Major League Baseball, preferring to focus on landing an NFL team. We’re also not sure about the ownership of the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers being too thrilled about this, either. Left in the cold: Las Vegas, as Marlins officials still have not received permission to discuss a deal with Sin City.

Talks continue on ballpark near Xanadu Posted March 2, 2006 Developers of the Xanadu retail and entertainment center balked yesterday on their plan to seek a new team to build a minor-league ballpark at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The developers, the Mills Corp. and Mack-Cali Realty, threatened to look elsewhere in January after negotiations stalled with Steve Kalafer, owner of the proposed Bergen Cliff Hawks (independent; Atlantic League). Kalafer has sued Mills/Mack-Cali for reneging on a verbal agreement to build a $30 million ballpark and charge him about $700,000 per year to lease the ballpark.

Williams draws political fire on ballpark finance plan Posted March 2, 2006 A strategy offered by D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams to ensure that Major League Baseball will not have to pay for potential cost overruns on a new Washington Nationals ballpark drew critical and angry reactions from several D.C. Council members yesterday. The Williams administration told baseball officials this week that $20 million in surplus tax revenue being raised to finance debt on construction bonds can be used to cover overruns if necessary. Williams is trying to persuade baseball to endorse a $611 million stadium spending cap on city funds the council approved last month. Some of the harping is political — coming from the mayor’s traditional opponents — but some of it is coming from supporters of the ballpark, including Linda Cropp. More from the Washington Times.

Anaheim, Angels heading back to court over name Posted March 2, 2006 Nearly a month after losing at trial, the city of Anaheim will ask a judge to order the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to resume calling itself the Anaheim Angels. The city sued the team for breach of contract last January, shortly after owner Arte Moreno changed the team name. A jury found in the team’s favor on Feb. 9, dashing the city’s hope of recovering millions of dollars in publicity and tourist revenue it claimed the name change cost Anaheim. On Thursday, the city’s attorneys were headed back to court to ask Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter J. Polos to order the baseball team to resume calling itself the Anaheim Angels.

Kinston, Daytona receive affiliate extensions Posted March 2, 2006 The Cleveland Indians officially announced an extension of their affiliation with the Kinston Indians (Class A; Carolina League) by signing a two-year player development contract through the 2008 season. The original agreement between Cleveland and Kinston began in 1987 with the current contract expiring at the end of the 2006 season. Meanwhile, the Daytona Cubs (Class A; Florida State League) are expected to announce today that the team’s player-development deal with the Chicago Cubs is expected to be extended for two more years.

Spring-training games begin Posted March 2, 2006 In case you didn’t notice, spring training games officially started yesterday with some charity, college and intrasquad games. Ironically, rain interrupted a Diamondbacks-White Sox game at Tucson Electric Park: it’s been the driest winter in decades in Arizona (Phoenix went 132+ days without rain), but the weather didn’t stop over 3,200 fans from showing up to the opener. If you’re thinking about heading to spring training, this is the year: only the New York Yankees have sold out every game, and for some reason one of the most coveted spring-training tickets in recent years — to a Red Sox game in Fort Myers — is not so hot anymore. We’re not entirely sure you should try to take in a World Baseball Classic game (despite many good, good seats available for virtually every game), as stars keep dropping out of the tourney: yester Vladimir Guerrero announced he was skipping the tourney.

TEP has helped Ajo Way, but more was anticipated Posted March 2, 2006 Speaking of Tucson Electric Park: here’s a look at the spring home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox ten years after it was pitched to local voters. Much of the promised development in the area didn’t happen — there are no new restaurants or hotels in the area — and now it appears Tucson missed out on a mighty redevelopment tool when they selected Ajo Way for the ballpark instead of downtown. The Diamondbacks and White Sox are contracted to use the sprawling Kino Sports Complex through 2013, but there are always rumors of White Sox management seeking another team to take over its lease so the team can move spring operations to Phoenix.

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